SINGAPORE — Videos of a heartwarming farewell party for a long-serving migrant worker at an engineering company here have recently gone viral on social media, with viewers commending the organisation for setting a “great example” and appreciating the employee’s hard work.
In a TikTok video of the party, a migrant worker from Bangladesh — known as Sona Mia — is seen dabbing at his tears as he holds on to a colleague, who is also visibly emotional as he pats Mr Sona’s shoulder.
The video was posted on Tuesday (Jan 16) by an employee named Hossen Md Imran from Singapore firm Shun Yi Cheng Contract Engineering (SYC).
SYC’s website states that the company specialises in the installation of raised floor, ceiling and partition systems for semiconductor and pharmaceutical cleanroom industries.
Balloon decorations can be seen on the wall behind them, with some spelling out “SYC” and “27”, as well as on the table in front of them, which is laden with cupcakes.
Mr Hossen, who is also from Bangladesh and came to Singapore in 2016, said that Mr Sona was the company’s “most senior employee” and had worked there for 27 out of the 32 years that he had spent in Singapore.
Mr Sona said in a second video published on Mr Hossen’s TikTok account that he came to Singapore in 1991. In the comments section, Mr Hossen confirmed that Mr Sona had worked at another company before joining SYC in 1996.
Speaking into a microphone, a colleague who is on the stage with Mr Sona jokes that the retiree is richer than him, presumably due to the number of years he has worked at SYC and the lower cost of living in Bangladesh.
“How many houses (do) you have in Bangladesh?” he asks Mr Sona. “I think (it) also may be 27 houses.”
The other man who is comforting Mr Sona then chokes up as he prepares to give a speech.
“(When) we need to rush the project, he will definitely help me to rush the project, to complete everything,” he tells the crowd. “You need hard work, whichever (it is)… he (will) never even have a single word (to say) he’s tired.”
The first colleague who joked about Mr Sona being rich adds: “Actually, raised floor work is not easy also. Because (it) requires you to squat or kneel on the floor
“Let’s say we start work at 8am or 9am, we literally work all the way until, like, 10pm, 11pm, midnight? All the way, kneeling. Or squatting down. And Sona Mia is the lead man.”
As of Friday afternoon, the video has received 581,000 views, 29,700 likes and 900 comments.
The majority of the comments came from TikTok users who were touched by the video, with several saying that it brought them to tears as well.
Many praised SYC, declaring that it must be a “good company with good bosses and colleagues” to have retained Mr Sona for 27 years — and for him to cry at the prospect of leaving.
A top comment read: “This is how foreign workers deserve respect. Hats off to this company and boss.”
Another said: “He (will) be lost after retirement… he (will) miss you all like crazy. Boss and employee are both lucky.”
Others thanked SYC and Mr Sona’s bosses for throwing him a party and commented on how “rare” it is to see such an event, especially for migrant workers in Singapore.
One viewer wrote: “Thank you for recognising his efforts. (It’s) not easy for him to leave his family and work overseas.”
Two follow-up videos also showed the employees thanking Mr Sona and wishing him well as they reminisce about working on projects together.
In one of the videos, which was posted on Wednesday, a speaker declares: “It’s not easy, but I believe Sona Mia has contributed 100 per cent of his effort to SYC’s growth. And probably, also, being a mentor to many of the SYC brothers here.
“Let us give Sona Mia a (round of) applause.”
In a third video, posted on Thursday, the same employee who was comforting Mr Sona during the farewell party tells him: “Enjoy your life and stay healthy. Make sure we stay in contact.
“Anything, I mean, (you) can call us, lah, huh? Or whichever, you let us know.”
The former colleagues refer to Mr Sona as their “elder” and “a big brother to everyone (in SYC)”, with the first speaker concluding: “Basically when we work, we (curse), we shout, but (at the) end of the day — we are still a family together.”
As for Mr Hossen, he expressed his gratitude to SYC, calling it a “really good” company and saying that he is proud to work for it.
He confirmed in the comments that the company had given Mr Sona a S$50 NTUC FairPrice supermarket voucher, though it is unclear if this was the only gift presented to him.
TODAY has reached out to SYC for comment.
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